Clark has a serious obsession with cost. That passion comes through in his emphasis on low-cost investments. The lowest-cost provider in the United States is Vanguard. Fidelity and T. Rowe Price are right behind Vanguard.

Syndicated financial writer Scott Burns has done an analysis and found that if you don't go the low-cost route, you'll have 40% less money at retirement. The commissions you'll pay are like a cancer eating at your retirement security.

When you buy a mutual fund, you pay a management fee every year. Vanguard, for example, charges only 1/8 what other expensive facilitators do. When it comes to variable annuities, Vanguard charges one-thirteenth less than others.

Some people think they can't go the low-cost route because it means they'll have to pick their own investments -- something they don't understand. But investing is not brain surgery. You just have to know the basics.

Pay yourself first so you have money to invest. And go for a Roth IRA! Your money will grow tax-free and it will be spent tax free. The Roth, however, is just a house and you've got to decide how to furnish it. That's where Clark's investing guide comes in handy. It contains his favorite picks for ultra low cost mutual funds, among other things.

Vanguard founder John Bogle is a fan of the targeted retirement funds. With these funds, you put your money in the year closest to when you expect to retire. It's a "set it and forget it" kind of thing. Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price all offer this kind of investment.

One last thought: Beware of "employees" inside banks trying to sell you variable annuities when you go to renew your CDs -- unless you want to pay humongous commissions, face massive expenses and have immense tax problems.